Hands-on with the Toshiba Chromebook

Toshiba’s first Chromebook is also the first Chrome OS laptop to ship with a 13.3 inch display. But that’s just about the only thing that sets it apart from similar offerings from HP, Acer, and others… with one possible exception.

Still, with a $280 price tag, the Toshiba Chromebook could be a decent option for folks looking for an inexpensive, portable notebook that will be used primarily for web browsing and running web apps.

I got to spend a few minutes with the Toshiba Chromebook recently and while there’s no mistaking its plastic design for a premium notebook, the laptop seems pretty zippy and should offer a decent Chrome OS experience.

The full-sized keyboard and touchpad feel decent, and the screen is pretty bright. But this laptop doesn’t have any premium features such as a backlit keyboard or touchscreen.

What Toshiba says the Chromebook does have is long battery life. The company is promising up to 9 hours of run time. That would make it one of the longest-lasting Chrome OS laptops. The last few models I’ve reviewed have gotten 5 hours of run time or less.

Toshiba’s Chromebook should hit the streets around February 16th for $280.

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Wow! A 13.3 inch Chromebook for under $300? Way Cool! The 11.6 inch screen on my Samsung Chromebook is too small for me. 3.3 lbs with 5 hours of battery life sounds good too. Does it have a USB charger like the HP Chromebook? Sounds like a great deal. I’ll be checking ToshibaDirect.com in a month or so.